Two growing shopper segments, low-income value explorers (LIVE) and first-time modern trade shoppers (FTMTS), will add $ 3 billion in FMCG sales in India by 2015, Nielsen said in a statement.

"The Indian economic landscape is flourishing and so are the shopping habits of low-income value explorers. This is a growing shopper base upgrading to become first-time modern trade shoppers," Nielsen India Executive Director Adrian Terron said.

Nielsen's research shows that an estimated one crore LIVE households live in urban India, earning an income of less than Rs 72,000 annually.

Spending one-fifth of their household expenditures on FMCG ($ 2.4 billion), Nielsen expects this shopper segment to increase FMCG sales by 50 per cent in the next three years to $ 3.6 billion.

"Confident and buoyed by a sudden rise in incomes, half of LIVE households have already migrated to branded products," said Terron.

Five per cent of LIVE household budgets is currently spent at modern trade, and is expected to grow to reach $ 175 million by 2015, Nielsen said.

FTMTS spends $ 280 million at modern trade on FMCG products, and is expected to triple to $ 1 billion in three years, Nielsen added.

FTMTS spends 35 per cent on FMCG at modern trade and is growing by 15 per cent each year, it added.